2017 in video gaming
2017 saw the release of numerous video games as well as other developments in the video game industry. The Nintendo Switch console was released in 2017, which sold more than 14 million units by the end of 2017, exceeding the underperforming Wii U lifetime sales, and helped to revitalize Nintendo, alongside the "retro" Super NES Classic Edition console, the refreshed New Nintendo 2DS XL handheld, and a strategy for mobile gaming. Microsoft also released the higher-powered Xbox One X targeted for 4K resolutions and virtual reality support. Top-rated games in 2017 included The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, Divinity: Original Sin II, and Horizon Zero Dawn. One of the most influential games of 2017 was PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which was released in early access for personal computers in March 2017 and by the end of the year had sold 30 million units, breaking several concurrent player count records and established the battle royale genre. The highest-grossing game of the year was the mobile game Honor of Kings, known as Arena of Valor internationally. Considerable debate was held over the use of loot boxes in video games and whether they constituted gambling, coming to a head with the release of Star Wars Battlefront II. Series with new entries Series with a new entry in 2017 included Assassin's Creed, Bomberman, Bubsy, Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Danganronpa, Dawn of War, Destiny, Digimon, Dragon Quest, Doom, Dynasty Warriors, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, Gravity Rush, Halo Wars, Injustice, Kingdom Hearts, Marvel vs. Capcom, Mass Effect, Metroid, Need for Speed, Nier, Persona, Planescape: Torment, Pokémon, Prey, Professor Layton, Resident Evil, Sniper Elite, Sniper Ghost Warrior, Sonic the Hedgehog, Splatoon, Star Wars Battlefront, Super Mario, Tekken, The Evil Within, The Legend of Zelda, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Uncharted, Wipeout, Wolfenstein, WWE 2K, Xenoblade Chronicles, Yakuza and Yoshi. In addition, 2017 saw many new intellectual properties, such as Nioh, Hollow Knight, Horizon Zero Dawn, Cuphead, ELEX, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Major awards 1These awards are sometimes given as one (e.g. Best Mobile/Handheld, Excellence in Audio) or two awards (e.g. Best Mobile, Best Handheld; Audio Achievement, Best Music). Financial performance According to analyst firm Newzoo, the video game industry had in global revenues, a 10% growth from 2016. This growth was primarily driven by mobile gaming, as 43% ( ) of those revenues came from this sector, a growth of 23.3% from 2016. Of the remaining, 29% ( ) came from consoles hardware and games, and 28% ( ) from personal computer games. SuperData similarly estimated the global video game market in 2017 was around , driven heavily by free-to-play mobile and computer games. Analyst firm Sensor Tower, which tracks revenue within the mobile industry, reported that of the in total revenues in 2017, came from mobile games, with the highest-grossing games being the free-to-play titles Monster Strike, Honor of Kings, Fate/Grand Order, Clash Royale, and Candy Crush Saga. The year's top-selling premium game was PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which sold 30 million units in 2017. Within the United States, the video industry grew from 2016 by 18% to a total revenue of , with from hardware sales (gaining 19% from 2016) and (18%) from software and microtransactions, according to NPD Group and the Entertainment Software Association. Further, was spent on mobile gaming in 2017 in the United States, according to Sensor Tower. The top grossing revenue mobile games were Candy Crush Saga, Game of War: Fire Age, Clash of Clans, Mobile Strike, and Clash Royale. Highest-grossing games worldwide The following were 2017's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms). Best-selling games by country The following were 2017's top ten best-selling video games by country, in terms of software units sold (excluding microtransactions and free-to-play titles) on PC and console platforms, for the United States, Japan, and United Kingdom. Events Hardware releases The list of game-related hardware released in 2017 in North America. Game releases The list of games released in 2017. January–March April–June July–September October–December Cancelled games Cancelled * Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (WiiU) * Scalebound (Win, XBO) * Titanfall: Frontline (iOS, Droid) * MetaWorld (VR) Unavailable * Club Penguin * Firefall * The Tomorrow Children * ''Marvel Heroes''https://twitter.com/MarvelHeroes/status/935252377942179840/photo/1 Critically acclaimed games Metacritic is an aggregator of video game journalism reviews. It generally considers expansions and re-releases as separate entities. See also * List of PlayStation 2 games for PlayStation 4 * List of Virtual Console games for Wii U (Japan) * List of Virtual Console games for Wii U (North America) * List of Virtual Console games for Wii U (PAL region) * List of Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (Japan) * List of Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (North America) * List of Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (PAL region) * List of Xbox 360 games compatible with Xbox One References Notes * The release date is slated for Japan only. * A western or worldwide release of previously regional exclusive games. * These games were targeted to be released in fiscal year 2018, which begins on April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Footnotes Category:2017 in video gaming Category:Video games by year Category:2017-related lists